He built the boat over five years ago to the exact specifications listed in the Bible – making it 390ft-long, 75ft-high and containing 12,000 trees worth of wood.

And now, he is ready to take it to Jesus Christ’s birthplace after announcing plans to set sail to Israel.

SETTING SAIL: The reconstructed Ark will set sail to Israel (Pic: GETTY)

SIZE: The businessman built it to the measurements given in the Bible (Pic: GETTY)

POSSIBLE: Johan Huibers said his Ark showed the same thing could have been built by Noah (Pic: GETTY)

He said: “My preferred destination for the ark is Israel.

“This is a copy of God’s ship. It only makes sense to take it to God’s land.”

Of Israel, he said: “I love the land, I love the country, I love the people.

“They don’t obey, they do what they want, they drive like mad, shove while waiting in line and don’t listen to anyone. Just like me.”

FAITH: Johan Huibers is a committed Christian, which inspired his project (Pic: GETTY)

He also spoke of his devout faith, pointing to a copy of his Bible and saying: “It may sound scary, but I believe everything written in this book, cover to cover.”

He states he built the ark to show that God exists, revealing just seven people constructed it over a period of four years – demonstrating it is entirely possible Noah could have built an ark in Biblical times.

Noah’s Ark appears in Genesis, where a huge flood is sent by God to purge the world of its evils.

However, Noah is told to build a huge vessel, which he packs with every type of animal and his family to escape the apocalyptic event.

Repeated attempts over the years to locate the remnants of the ark have been unsuccessful, with scholars unable to definitively prove it exists.